Press-head for garment presses

ABSTRACT

A press-head with a self-levelling mechanism automatically adjusts the position of the press-head when it encounters a variation in thickness of an item being pressed. In the preferred embodiment, the mechanism includes a plurality of pins which stand proud of the sole plate and are retained slidably and tiltably by the main body. Advantageously, a spring may be provided about each pin between the main body and the sole plate. The press-head has means for connecting it to a lifting shaft of a garment press and the pins may be arranged in a symmetrical array relative to that shaft.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a press-head and in particular,but not exclusively to, a press-head of a garment press.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] UK Patent 780,660 (Lessing) describes a garment press in which agarment is pressed between two heated plates, the lower plate of whichforms a press bed is fixed and the upper plate of which forms a pressplate which is mounted to the press bed for movement in a vertical planeonly, such that the press plate can be raised from and lowered down ontothe press bed. In order to press a garment the press plate is raised,the garment is then placed on the press bed and the press plate loweredinto contact with the press bed trapping the garment therebetween inorder to effect a pressing operation.

[0005] The press bed of this prior garment press presents a resilientsurface to the upper inflexible press plate which permits it to givewhere required to conform to the shape of buttons or fasteners of thegarment being pressed, thereby reducing the incidence of damage to suchbuttons or fasteners when pressed between the two plates. For thispurpose the fixed press bed of this prior garment press comprises twosubstantially parallel plates, an upper perforated plate which forms thepressing surface on which the garment is supported and a lower supportsurface in the form of a grid plate. The resilience of the press bed isprovided by a number of conical springs arranged in longitudinal rowsand secured between the grid and perforated plates of the press bed.

[0006] This type of garment press is only designed to press garments bytrapping the garment between its two plates and is therefore notsuitable for pressing garments having a complicated structure such asfor example shirts, for such garments, care has to be taken whenpressing one part of the shirt that creases are not introduced intoanother part of that shirt, and to ensure that the seams and edges suchas collars and cuffs are sharp and crisp. This prior garment press isgenerally only designed for dealing with newly made garments which havebeen laundered but not dried, since creases introduced during the dryingprocess cannot be effectively removed.

[0007] In order to effectively press laundered dried garments it isknown to use a hand held heated iron which is pressed to the surface ofthe garment and moved about the surface thereof by an operator in orderto smooth out the creases. This method however causes considerableoperator fatigue, and results in poor efficiency and economicperformance. In order to overcome this problem a garment press wasdeveloped as described in UK Patent GB 2 318 591 (Barry James Freeman)in which the known press plate is replaced by a press-head which can bemoved about the garment in a similar fashion to a hand held heated iron,but which press-head is supported by the garment press with the garmentpress providing mechanical advantage to the movement of the press-head.This has the advantage of alleviating operator fatigue.

[0008] The garment press of GB 2 318 591, as illustrated in FIG. 8 ofthe present drawings, comprises a fixed press table 18 for supporting agarment to be pressed and a moveable press-head 58 which is brought intocontact with the press table 18 for pressing the garment. For thispurpose the press-head 58 fixedly depends from one end of a press shaft50, which shaft forms a lifting axis for the press-head 58 in order toraise and lower the press-head 58 away and towards the pressing table18. The press shaft 50 extends vertically through a bearing in a yokeframe 44 so as to be capable of both rotational and linear movement.Pneumatic cylinders 54 provided either side of the yoke 44 can beactivated by means not illustrated to impose linear motion of the shaft50 through the yoke to raise and lower the press-head 58, whilst handle60 fixed to the shaft 50 is used to manually rotate the shaft 50 aboutits lifting axis and thereby rotate the press-head 58 relative to thepressing surface 18. Additionally, the press-head 58 is also moveable ina substantially horizontal plane across the press table due to itsmounting on transverse bars 40 which are mounted for slidable movementon fixed horizontal bars 34. Handle 64 fixed to horizontal bars 34 isused to manually slide the press-head transversely to bars 34 and alongbars 34, thereby moving the press-head about the surface of the pressingtable.

[0009] This prior press-head has the disadvantage that the press-head isa rigid body and therefore does not readily adapt to press garmentshaving different thicknesses, or garments supporting trimmings such asbuttons or fastenings without operator assistance in adjusting theposition of the press-head above the table. Without adjustment thickerparts of the garment may be overpressed, and thinner parts of thegarment may be underpessed, also button damage may occur. Whilst adegree of adjustment can be achieved by providing a padded surface tothe press table without hindering the free movement of the press-headacross the press table, there nevertheless exists the need to provideautomatic adjustment alleviating the need for operator involvement. Itwould not be appropriate to provide rows of conical springs, such asused in the fixed press plates of GB 780 660 (Lessing) becausecompression of these springs would block the movement of the press-head.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] It is an object of the present invention to provide a press-headwhich overcomes or alleviates the above described drawbacks.

[0011] It is a further object of the present invention to provide animproved press-head for a garment press which more effectively pressestextile items such as garments having varying thicknesses and/ortrimmings.

[0012] To this end, the subject of the present invention is a press-headwhich can be installed and fitted on a garment press, and which can bemechanically assisted in its movements about a pressing surface of thegarment press. A further subject of the present invention is a garmentpress incorporating such a press-head.

[0013] According to the present invention there is provided a press-headhaving a self-levelling mechanism which automatically adjusts theposition of the press-head when the press-head encounters a variation inthickness of an item being pressed by the press-head when the press-headencounters a variation in thickness of an item being pressed by thepress-head when the press-head is moved over the item.

[0014] Advantageously the self adjusting mechanism may be providedbetween a main body of the press-head and its sole plate, the selfadjusting means tilting the sole plate when said variation in thicknessis encountered. The self adjusting mechanism may comprise resilientmeans which extend between the main body of the press-head and its soleplate. The self adjusting mechanism may comprise a plurality of pinswhich stand proud of the sole plate which pins are retained slidably andtiltably by the main body. Advantageously, a spring may be providedabout each pin which extends between the main body and the sole plate.Advantageously, the press-head has means to connect it to a liftingshaft of a garment press and the pins may be provided in a symmetricalarray relative to that shaft.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The invention will be described by way of example only and withreference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0016]FIG. 1 shows a schematic side view of a press-head constructed inaccordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0017]FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the press-head of FIG. 1;

[0018]FIG. 3 is a view similar of FIG. 1 illustrating tilting of thesole plate of the press-head when encountering an obstruction locatedcentrally in the path of movement of the press-head;

[0019]FIG. 4 shows a front view of the press-head of FIG. 1;

[0020]FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 illustrating movement of thesole plate of the press-head when encountering an obstruction located toone side in the path of movement of said press-head;

[0021]FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a second embodiment ofpress-head;

[0022]FIG. 7 is a plan view of the press-head of FIG. 6; and

[0023]FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a known garment press.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] FIGS. 1 to 5 show a first and non-limiting embodiment ofpress-head constructed in accordance with the present invention forpressing a garment placed on a pressing surface of a pressing table. Thepress-head is in use mounted above the table for vertically liftablemovement towards and away from the pressing surface in order to bringthe press-head into engagement with the garment, and for movement in ahorizontal plane about the pressing surface in order that the press-headcan be moved about the surface of the garment to smooth out any creases.For this purpose the press-head in this embodiment has means to mount itto a press shaft of a garment press such as that described in UK PatentGB 2 318 591 (Barry James Freeman).

[0025] The press-head 58 comprises two substantially parallel plates 17,10, in the form of a fixed pressure plate 10 which is adapted to befixedly connected to a press shaft 50 of a garment press for movementtherewith, and a dependent sole plate 17 which is suspended from thefixed pressure plate 10.

[0026] The pressure plate 10 has three through bores 1 provided in a rowalong its central axis 2. The sole plate 17 carries three corresponding,upwardly extending fixed pins 20 which are located in a row along itscentral axis 3. Each pin 20 has a cross-section which is slightlysmaller than that of the bores 1 and are moveably located through arespective bore 1. The sole plate 17 is retained on the pressure plate10 by the provision of circlips 13, which have a cross-section widerthan that of the bores and which are provided on the free ends of thepins 20 at the side 4 of the pressure plate 10 remote from the soleplate 17. In its rest position, that is when the press-head 58 is not ina pressing position, the circlips 13 rest on outer surface 4 of pressureplate 10, with the sole plate 17 hanging thereon.

[0027] A spring 15 is provided about each pin 20 and extends between thepressure plate 10 and the sole plate 17. Each spring 15 has across-section which is wider than its respective bore 1 to prevent thespring extending through the bore 1.

[0028] In use when the press shaft 50 is moved downwards the pressureplate 10 fixed thereto is moved down towards the pressing surface of thepressing table. The sole plate 17, suspended by circlips 13 on thepressure plate 10, is likewise lowered down towards the pressingsurface. Once the sole plate 17 contacts the pressing surface furtherdownward movement of the pressure plate moves the pressure plate 10downwards along pins 20 (as best illustrated in FIG. 3) which increasesthe tension of springs 15 as the gap between the pressure plate and soleplate decreases and thereby increases the downward pressure of the soleplate 17 on the surface of the item to be pressed.

[0029] Movement of the press-head along the surface of the garmentenables the smoothing of creases with pressure from the pressure plate10 via the springs 15 keeping the surface of the sole plate evenlypressed to the garments surface. However, when the sole plate encountersan uneven surface 5 to the garment, the sole plate 17 is able to liftfrom the garments surface, and effectively ride over such obstruction.

[0030] As best illustrated in FIG. 3 if an obstruction 5 is encounteredby the sole plate 17, which obstruction in this instance is located inline with the central axis 3 of the sole plate 17, the leading edge 6 ofthe sole plate 17 is lifted as it contacts the obstruction due tofurther and upward compression of the leading spring 15A, causinglifting and tilting of pin 20A within its bore 1A. Once the portion ofthe sole plate carrying pin 20A has passed the obstruction, thisadditional force to the spring 15A is released and the leading edge 6 ofthe sole plate 17 is once again forced down to the pressing surface bythe pressure exerted by the pressure plate 10. As the sole plate 17passes over the obstruction each spring 15B, then 15C is progressivelycompressed and then released enabling the sole plate to ride over theobstruction.

[0031]FIG. 5 illustrates the reaction of the sole plate 17 when itencounters an obstruction 5 located in its path, but to one side of thesole plate 17. In this instance as the sole plate encounters theobstruction the sole plate is lifted from the side causing a progressivelift and tilt to each of the pins 20A, 20B, 20C as springs 15A, 15B and15C are compressed, and then released once the obstruction has passedfrom under the sole plate 17.

[0032] The springs provide a cushioning effect by adjusting the pressureexerted by the press-head on to the pressing surface, enabling a selfadjustment of the press-head when it encounters an obstruction, therebyreducing damage to items such as buttons and self adjusting the pressureit exerts enabling a more uniform pressing when different thicknesses ofgarment are encountered during movement of the press-head about thepressing surface. This eliminates or reduces the need for the operatorto make appropriate adjustments.

[0033]FIGS. 6 and 7 show a second and non-limiting embodiment ofpress-head constructed in accordance with the present invention. Thisembodiment of press-head is similar to that of FIGS. 1 to 5, but in thisembodiment the sole plate 17 is supported by four pins 20 each with aspring 15. In this arrangement two of the pins 20D, 20E are provided inline with the central axis 2, 3, one either side of the press-headlifting axis provided by press shaft 50 and with pin 20D spaced furtherfrom the shaft 50 to provide greater stability to the longer front end 6of the sole plate 17.

[0034] Whilst the other two pins 20F and 20G are provided in linetransversely to the central axis 2, 3 and in parallel with and equallyspaced from said lifting axis 50. As before corresponding bores areprovided in the pressure plate 10 through which the pins 20D, 20E, 20Fand 20G are mounted to suspend the sole plate 17. This arrangementfunctions in the same manner as the pin arrangement described withrespect to FIGS. 1 to 5 when the press-head moves across the pressingsurface, but holds the sole plate more firmly when the sole plate is inthe non-pressing position.

[0035] It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to thespecifically described pin arrangements and other arrangements of pinswill be apparent to one skilled in the art which will enable the selflevelling of the sole plate of the pressing head.

[0036] It is to be noted that the sole plate may be heated by suitableknown means.

[0037] Also, it should be noted that the spring force of the springs canbe selected to provide a certain pretension between the pressure plateand the sole plate to achieve a required pressing force and/or thepress-head can be lowered to a predetermined level to compress thesprings to a desired tension to adjust the pressing force of thepress-head.

[0038] Although the press-head has been described as being mounted to agarment press as described in UK Patent GB 2 318 591, it could beprovided to other types of garment press which enable movement inalternative ways about the pressing surface while the invention has beendescribed in detail and in terms of specific embodiments thereof, itwill be apparent that various changes and modifications can be madetherein by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit andscope thereof.

What I claim is:
 1. A press-head adapted to be moved about a pressingsurface in order to press an item supported on that pressing surface,the press-head having a self-levelling mechanism.
 2. A press-head asclaimed in claim 1 wherein the press-head comprises a main body and asole plate suspended to said main body by said self-levelling mechanism.3. A press-head as claimed in claim 1 wherein the press-head comprises amain body and a sole plate suspended to said main body by saidself-levelling mechanism, wherein the self levelling mechanism comprisesresilient means.
 4. A press-head as claimed in claim 1 wherein thepress-head comprises a main body and a sole plate suspended to said mainbody by said self-levelling mechanism, the self-levelling mechanismcomprising a plurality of fixed mounting pins which stand proud of thesole plate, a plurality of corresponding bores in the main body adaptedto receive said pins, means to retain the pins in said bores and whichenable a sliding and tilting motion of the pins through the bores, andresilient means located between the main body and sole plate.
 5. Apress-head as claimed in claim 4, wherein the resilient means comprisesa plurality of springs, each of which is provided about a respectivepin.
 6. A press-head as claimed in claim 1, wherein the press-headcomprises a main body and a sole plate suspended to said main body bysaid self-levelling mechanism to enable tilting of the sole plate toaccommodate uneven pressing surfaces encountered during movement of thepress-head, the self-levelling mechanism comprising a plurality of fixedmounting pins arranged in a symmetrical pattern proud to the sole plate,a plurality of corresponding bores provided in the main body forslidably and tiltably retaining the pins and a respective springprovided about each pin and which spring is located between the mainbody and the sole plate.
 7. A press-head as claimed in claim 1 havingmounting means for mounting the press-head to a garment press.
 8. Apress-head as claimed in claim 2, wherein the self-levelling mechanismhas means to selectively adjust the tilt of the sole plate relative to apressing surface.